1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cassette tape holders and more particularly pertains to cassette tape holders which may be used to prevent a cassette tape from unwinding during transportation while simultaneously being of minimal size so that a large number of cassette tapes may be stored in a small space.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of cassette tape containers is known in the prior art. More specifically, cassette tape containers heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of containing cassette tapes are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,659 which issued to Morita discloses a magnetic tape cassette container that fully encloses a cassette tape and which is utilized by sliding the cassette tape through either of two open ends of the device and securing the cassette tape therein with a closure flap that engages the reels of the cassette tape.
Another container for cassette tapes can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,820 which issued to Ackeret. This device includes an outer box of sufficient size to fully enclose a cassette tape stored therein on a transport slider that may be ejected from the box to facilitate removal of the cassette tape.
The cassette tape containers mentioned above completely enclose the cassette tape to be stored. This results in the need for a much larger storage area to accommodate the volume of the cassette tape as well as the volume of the storage case together. In addition, the cassette tape containers mentioned heretofore do not include the ability to rotate the reels within the cassette to rewind any excess tape that may be present outside of the cassette.
In this respect, the cassette tape holder according to the instant invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of preventing a cassette tape from unwinding during transportation that is of minimal size so that a large number of cassette tapes may be stored in a small space.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new cassette tape holder which can be used to prevent the cassette tape from unwinding during transportation while simultaneously being of minimal size so that a large number of cassette tapes may be stored in a small space. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.